


We See All

by honestgrins



Series: To Rely on the Kindness of Strangers [46]
Category: The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-18
Updated: 2016-07-18
Packaged: 2018-07-24 16:24:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,201
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7515047
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/honestgrins/pseuds/honestgrins
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prompt from nemesis729: "I took a bunch of free condoms from health services just because I could and they all fell out of my bag at once and now you’re staring at me weirdly."</p>
            </blockquote>





	We See All

**Author's Note:**

> What better way to jumpstart my creative juices than filling a prompt I’ve had for ages? I was an RA in a university that ensured condom machines were free and available in every residence hall, and I often saw students take advantage of said machines. The desk attendants know more than you think, people. That said, personal safety is super important, and I highly encourage everyone with similar access to take advantage of free condoms without shame.

His eyes burned in exhaustion. Hours of staring at the blank page of his sketchbook had earned him no inspiration for a worthy portfolio piece. An MFA was no guarantee for success as an artist, but Klaus needed to make his education count for any hope of paying off his student loans - and he couldn't graduate if his dry spell delayed his progress any longer.

Even though his job in the residence hall earned him decent hours working the front desk, Klaus still needed the loans because his ass of a father refused to pay for an art degree.

His pencil twitched, a violent desire to draw a truly hideous image of Mikael rising within him. Klaus's dark thoughts were only broken by the sound of a door opening down the hall.

It was a three-day weekend, And Klaus had expected the dorm to be deserted. Most students at the small college used the short holiday after midterms to celebrate their brief respite from exams. For Saturday, that meant off-campus parties or home for the weekend.

He was surprised, then, to see a pretty blonde shuffling past him in flannel pajamas and Barbie slippers. She seemed agitated, muttering to herself as she messed with an empty plastic bag from Target.

"Unbelievable," she mumbled angrily.

Klaus recognized her as one of the few seniors living in the building, though he couldn't recall ever speaking to her. Given her clear irritation, however, he thought better of striking up a conversation. His pencil twitching again, something about the anger in her eyes demanded to be drawn.

That is, until her determined stomp ended at the vending machines just around the corner from the front desk. When he expected to hear the beeps and whirs of the snack machine, though, Klaus instead heard the telltale squeak of a lid - the lid to the box of free condoms the Student Health Center supplied to all residence halls. By the sound of foil dropping into a plastic bag, he assumed the blonde was stocking up.

Frozen in shock, Klaus realized the girl's sudden silence meant an imminent return. Schooling his features in a neutral expression, her stern gaze as she rounded the corner prompted him to raise a curious eyebrow. "Big plans, love?"

"Only to murder my roommate," she bit out in response.

That explained nothing of the full bag swinging from her clenched fist, and Klaus was too intrigued to let her walk away. "Last I heard, lubricated rubber was a poor murder weapon."

"Not if she's allergic to latex," she quipped before huffing in aggravation. Dropping the bag on the desk, she started to gesticulate wildly with her hands. "The condoms aren't to kill her, just to replace the stash she's been filching from my nightstand."

Klaus coughed in an effort to hide a smirk at the situation. "She's been stealing your condoms?"

"Right?" she yelled, ignoring his amusement and focusing on the injustice. "Just because she's having all kinds of sex lately doesn't mean it has to be on my dime. My student loans are bad enough, I don't need to add Kat's contraceptive needs to my monthly budgets."

"Wouldn't it help get the message across if there were no condoms for her to steal?" he asked. Her eyes still captivated him, bright in her ranting, and he wanted to memorize every detail for as long as he could stretch the moment.

She scoffed, shaking her head as though his suggestion was truly ridiculous. "If I don't keep the condoms restocked, she will risk it," she reasons. "As much as she pisses me off, Kat is also my best friend. I'm all for life lessons, but a pregnancy isn't one of them. I would never forgive myself if Damon Salvatore knocked her up."

Klaus snorted, familiar with the name. Friends with his younger brother, he had heard quite a few stories. "Not his first pregnancy scare, I'm sure," he joked, pleased to see the blonde relax a bit until something nagged at him. "Sorry, I didn't get your name."

She pursed her lips in consideration.

Waiting patiently, Klaus silently hoped to pass whatever test she was performing in her head.

"Caroline," she finally offered, a tentative smile pulling at her lips.

"Klaus," he reciprocated. "No parties tonight, love?"

Rolling her eyes, Caroline moved closer to the desk. "My week has been nothing but study groups," she explained. "I need this weekend to recharge from my classmates and catch on the shows I've missed."

Nodding, Klaus smiled. "Sounds only fair," he said. "I suppose I should let you get back to it."

Caroline hesitated, looking around the deserted lobby. "I've never realized how lonely desk shifts must be," she said. "How long do you have to sit here by yourself?"

Trying to hide a smile at her lack of subtlety, Klaus focused again on his sketchbook. The errant pencil lines were steadily forming a pair of eyes, and he took care to add more features. "It's not so bad," he finally replied. "Less than an hour to go, and it gives me plenty of opportunity to not do my homework."

"Oh?" Caroline leaned closer. "What homework are you not doing?"

"There are easier ways to flirt, you know," he said with an arched eyebrow and smug smirk. His hand flew across the sketchbook as a stubborn expression took over her face.

Crossing her arms, Caroline scoffed. "Maybe I was interested in your drawing that, yes," she said, "I can tell is me. Do you draw all the girls who stop by your desk?"

"Just the ones in Barbie slippers and carrying a large bag of condoms," he answered with a grin.

She narrowed her eyes playfully. "There are easier ways to flirt, you know," she threw back at him.

Klaus shrugged. "I don't know, I kind of like it. You make a great model, actually." Before she could scoff again, he rushed to explain. "I've been stuck on my portfolio, and you're the first thing I've wanted to draw in weeks."

Biting her lower lip, Caroline seemed to be mulling it over. "So," she drawled, pulling a chair over to sit across the desk, "what do I get for modeling?"

Eyes wide, Klaus was lost for words. He hadn't expected her to be so...agreeable. "W-what?"

"I can kill an hour," she said easily. "I'll sit here, let you draw me, but what do I get out of the deal?"

"What do you want?"

She glanced down to the bag sitting in her lap, giggling at his shocked face. "I'm kidding," she assured him, "but I wouldn't say no to a real date."

Laughing, Klaus relaxed. He would have happily used a few of those condoms with her, but something about Caroline had him wanting more. "There's a concert next week I was planning to attend," he said. "Would you want to go with me?"

"We'll see," she answered.

The automatic hedging had Klaus confused.

"What?" she asked innocently. "I want to see how this picture turns out first."

Determined to make it his best, Klaus immediately got to work. Muses were a finicky bunch, and he wasn't about to let this one get away.


End file.
